Light bulb

This week has been a "light bulb" week for Tex, and I am wondering how it happened. At team roping practice this week, he all of a sudden started neck reining. Tonight at team sorting, Tex crouched down and turned about 45 degrees to really get after a cow- without me asking him to. It wasn't even crossing my mind that he would go after that cow, and it caught me off guard. Both of these instances (beck reining and cutting) were unexpected, but awesome.

I had just been thinking last week and wondering how I could get him to pick up neck reining. What went right all of a sudden on Wednesday? Is this normal for a horse to just suddenly one day have the light bulb come on? Or, was it something I did?

And, why, all of a sudden, did he crouch down and cut like a cutting horse at team sorting? He has never put that much effort out for me. I've never seen him move like that at all, for any reason (although I've daydreamed of it!)

The only thing I have been working on myself is trying not to nitpick him, and slowing down my cues.
In the past, I've been sometimes spontaneous and sudden with my cues. I would ask him to go left, and then all of a sudden, ask him to go right. I would ask him to stop, and then GO, without much warning. I'd cue for him to dun fast to the steer, then suddenly slow him down. But, after watching a little bit of a Julie Goodnight video (what bit I could stay awake through), I realized that it's good to give a little bit of a pre-cue to my horse, to let him know that I'm about to cue for something. I began slowing down when I was cueing, which included using my seat and calf more before I used my spur or rein.

Maybe it was that. Or maybe it was just a light bulb... Either way, I'm one happy horse owner today.